On November 6, 2023, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) published the General Compliance Program Guidance (GCPG) as a revised reference guide for the healthcare compliance...more
12/19/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Compliance ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Digital Health ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Healthcare ,
Incentives ,
Investors ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Private Investment Funds ,
REIT ,
Shareholders ,
Transparency
Trending in Telehealth is a new series from the McDermott digital health team in which we highlight state legislative and regulatory developments that impact the healthcare providers, telehealth and digital health companies,...more
7/21/2023
/ Digital Health ,
Healthcare ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Technology Sector ,
Telehealth
Digital health is one of the fast-growing segments of the healthcare market, with patients, clinicians and regulators increasingly aligned behind the opportunities that digitization presents.
Over the last three years,...more
3/21/2023
/ Controlled Substances Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Health ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
OIG ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Roe v Wade ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
A recent multijurisdictional contractor advisory committee (CAC) meeting held by six of the seven Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) gave stakeholders an initial opportunity to provide feedback on the strength of...more
3/6/2023
/ Comment Period ,
Deadlines ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Administrative Contractors (MAC) ,
Physicians ,
Stakeholder Engagement ,
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) ,
Technology Sector ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
Six of the seven Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) are scheduled to jointly host a multijurisdictional contractor advisory committee (CAC) meeting on February 28, 2023. This CAC panel meeting will allow the MACs to...more
On July 23, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published its annual proposed changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS), which include several key telehealth and other virtual care-related...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) continues to loosen the conditions for participation in Medicare, as well as specific reimbursement requirements, to ensure facilities and practitioners are able to practice...more
On March 4, 2020, the House passed the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020, a bipartisan bill to aid in COVID-19 preparedness and response. The bill includes, among other things,...more
As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States grows, healthcare providers are stepping up their response planning. To combat the spread of COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged...more
Certain long-standing laws, such as the civil monetary penalty provision prohibiting patient inducements, have hampered providers’ ability to fully leverage remote patient monitoring and other telehealth tools. Many...more
In 2018, even more than in recent years, federal lawmakers and regulators continued the push toward modernizing the existing legal framework to support and encourage digital health adoption in the context of care coordination...more
2/6/2019
/ ACOs ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Corporate Integrity Agreement ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Health ,
Electronic Health Record Incentives ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
OIG ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Request For Information ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
As previously noted in our Digital Health Mid-Year Review, 2018 has seen greater acceptance of telemedicine within the Medicare program. Both regulatory and statutory changes have expanded reimbursement opportunities and,...more
Where Things Stood -
Understanding the impact of what we have seen so far this year first requires an understanding of where we were at the end of 2017, with respect to both Medicare reimbursement and provider adoption of...more
Late last month, Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced Senate Bill 787, the Telehealth Innovation and Improvement Act (Telehealth Improvement Act), which is focused on expanding Medicare’s...more
On December 7, 2016, the US Congress enacted the 21st Century Cures Act, substantial legislation intended to accelerate “discovery, development and delivery” of medical therapies by encouraging biomedical research investment,...more
1/21/2017
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
Ambulatory Surgery Centers ,
Digital Health ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hospitals ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Manufacturers ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
MedPAC ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Off-Campus Departments ,
Opioid ,
Patients ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Research and Development ,
Small Business ,
Substance Abuse ,
Telehealth ,
Transparency
President Obama signed the 21st Century Cures Act on December 13, 2016. The act encourages biomedical research investment and facilitates innovation review and approval processes, but also serves as a vehicle for a wide...more
Collaborative efforts between congressional offices and various health care stakeholders, as well as the feedback provided in response to the Bipartisan CHRONIC Care Working Group Policy Options Document released in December...more
Summary -
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its CY2017 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule on July 17 - after receiving requests from various stakeholders to add telehealth services as...more
The integration of technology into health care delivery is exploding throughout the health industry landscape. Commentators speculating on the implications of the information revolution’s penetration of the health care...more
Introduction -
The transition of the US health care payment system from fee-for-service (FFS) to alternative value-based, budget-based, episode or procedure-based (e.g., bundled) and/or population-based payment models...more
The integration of technology into health care delivery is exploding throughout the health industry landscape. Commentators speculating on the implications of the information revolution’s penetration of the health care...more
7/12/2016
/ ACOs ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Big Data ,
Business Model ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Fee-for-Service ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization (MACRA) ,
Mobile Medical Applications ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine ,
Value-Based Payments
For many decades, at least since the passage of the Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973, there have been reform efforts focused on moving the United States health care system away from fee-for-service (FFS)...more
Earlier this month, a bipartisan group, led by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), introduced a bill in the Senate focused on promoting cost savings and quality care under the Medicare program through the use of telehealth...more
On December 18, 2015, the United States Senate Committee on Finance (the Committee) released a Bipartisan Chronic Care Working Group Policy Options Document), which outlines approaches under consideration to improve the care...more